Nailers are used to drive nails through different construction materials such as hardwood flooring. Pneumatic nailers are often used for this purpose, although there exist different types of nailers. Conventional pneumatic nailers are provided with a main body having an elongated nail ejection channel therein for receiving a nail from a nail magazine carried by the nailer main body. The nail is to be ejected more particularly through a nail outlet of the nail ejection channel leading out of the main body. A plunger carried within and movable along the nail ejection channel is actuated by an actuator for ejecting the nail out of the nail outlet.
This type of nailer is also provided with a sole at its lower end, the sole having a horizontal sole bearing surface there under on which the nailer will rest on the ground. The nailer also has a vertical abutment surface close to the nail outlet. When a nail is to be driven through a wooden board being installed as part of the hardwood flooring, the nailer is consequently applied against the board upper surface with its sole resting on the wooden board upper exposed surface and with its vertical abutment surface abutting against a lateral edge of the wooden board. It is noted that most conventional wooden boards include one lateral edges provided with an elongated tongue that extends longitudinally there along, and that the nail is intended to be driven through the wooden board lateral surface at the intersection between the recessed vertical lateral wall and the protruding elongated tongue. The nailer vertical abutment bearing surface usually abuts more specifically against this tongue which forms part of the wooden board lateral edge. Upon this position being achieved, the nailer ejection channel should be properly aligned with respect to the wooden board to drive a nail diagonally through its lateral edge so that the nail will extend through the wooden board and downwardly beyond the board into the sub-floor.
A problem with conventional nailers such as the one detailed hereinabove is that they are adapted to work with a very narrow range of hardwood flooring board types. More specifically, in the prior art nailers, the position of the nail ejection channel relative to its sole and to its vertical abutment surface is fixed, and consequently these two elements that act to guide the user of the nailer into properly positioning the nailer before ejecting the nail, cannot accommodate wooden boards of different configuration. Therefore, the nailers can only be used with a single wooden board type or at best with a narrow range of wooden board types.